A transformative model of laboratory instruction was developed to increase retention by creating a community across undergraduate chemistry and biochemistry majors (NSF-1044419). The model was based on three premises: incorporating research-level instrumentation into the laboratory curriculum, progressing from verification to authentic experimentation, and choreographing activities to create opportunities for interactions between student cohorts. Observational data from the fall of 2012 focused on the development of a community of first- and second-year students. A published rubric (Laboratory Instructional Practices Inventory: Sadler et al., J. Coll. Sci. Teach., 41, 1, 25), adjusted for this work, measured discourse, engagement, and collaboration between groups of students in the laboratory. Each of the categories (discourse, engagement, and collaboration) encompasses a range of codes to classify what was observed. For example, the category discourse has five codes ranging from no discourse (ND) to integrative discourse (ID) where ID denotes conversation held by students that integrates concepts and theories. Observations of each group were taken every 20 minutes, describing the type of discourse, engagement, and collaboration that occurred. The data was grouped based on collaboration codes and arranged in ascending order by time and then coded. The collaboration between first- and second- year students revealed the development of a community that exhibited social interactions and cognitive processes.